Henry: Don't write off power of the pen

I recently had a candidate for statewide office tell me about the power of the pen — you know, the part about it being mightier than the sword.

I don’t know about a sword, but the pen can definitely break the skin — thin skin, maybe.

Consider what happened in Fritch this past week, when what looked like a yawner of an agenda item for the Feb. 18 regular session of the Fritch City Council (discuss and take action on selection of city newspaper) was really not that routine.

The “selection of a city newspaper” had little to do with a governmental entity providing a testimonial for a newspaper, which could be a dubious distinction, depending on the governmental entity. (Anyone want the endorsement of the IRS? Didn’t think so.)

The agenda item was related to the city council’s designation of a paper of record. Or was it?

It seems there was a level of concern in Fritch that this particular agenda item was political payback from at least one disgruntled city official because of the local newspaper — the Eagle Press — and its aggressive coverage of the city’s financial scandal that has resulted in an ongoing investigation by the office of the Texas Attorney General.

Let’s hear it for the power of press, though.

Fortunately, for the sake of fairness and accountability, the city council voted unanimously to keep the Eagle Press as its newspaper of record.

There were about 70 people in attendance at the city council meeting. Some applauded.

“The city votes a paper of record annually. It had been usually in October,” said Tara Huff, the owner/publisher and only staffer of the Eagle Press. “It had lapsed, due to other city business going on.

“There were rumors that there might be some city councilmen that were upset and wanted to look at other options.”

Whatever the reason, professionalism and maturity prevailed, and Huff was appreciative of the community support.

“I was overwhelmed by the positive and supportive response of my city, by the Vietnam veterans that showed up,” Huff said. “There was a nice older lady who came up afterwards and said, “I don’t get out at night, but I came here for you.’ There was another man who said, ‘I have not been to a meeting in four years, but I’m here for you.’

“That was amazing. It meant a lot to me.”

From folks I’ve chatted with, the Eagle Press has been following this scandal for some time, first publishing a story this past June. The Amarillo Globe-News was at the city council meeting Tuesday (Officials: Charges likely by summer in Fritch financial fiasco, Feb. 18, amarillo.com).

Huff added that many city officials have been “fantastic.”

“We need to know how we got into this mess so we can eventually have a healthy outcome,” Huff said.

That’s true, because Fritch has bigger problems than the power of the pen.

A pat on the back

To syndicated columnist Walter Williams: According to online commenter “bfielder” at amarillo.com, Williams responded to an email about his latest column on forced benevolence by the government. Regarding Social Security, Williams wrote: “I don’t send it back because the more money we keep out of D.C., the better. It goes into a fund for charity. Cheers.”

A kick in the pants

To the school zone on Bell Street next to Amarillo High: Unless there is a black-and-white in plain view, this school zone is nonexistent, at least to the vast majority of Amarillo motorists. An unmarked police vehicle could give the city a budget surplus from ticket revenue in a matter of days.

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And how many more horrible, often fatal highway-closing accidents will there be on I-40 before we ever see anyone pulled over for doing 80 on a 60 mph freeway? Talk about enhancing revenue along with saving lives...

Are you sure it is the speeding or the people not going with the flow of traffic causing the accidents? I agree with a statment former lawman said that doing right is not always doing right. That is relative to your comment. I have lived in Phoenix, and Dallas I have witnessed this alot. Have a nice day.

The next time you are driving Dow Bell past Amarillo High, take a good look at the "school zone" signs. Unless they have changed them recently, there is no speed limit mentioned, nor is there a time of day shown. I don't think there is even a sign indicating where the zone ends.

If they want people to recognize it as a true school zone, mark it like other school zones.

Ahh yes he's too busy pointing out the splinter in Fritch's eye to notice the log in his own. The AGN doesn't do investigative journalism, but they definitely will publish a multitude of pieces stumping for any politician with an "R" after their name. Now THAT we can count on!